In-vivo imaging systems are commercially available for imaging small animals such as mice, such as the Maestro system from CRI Inc., (Woburn Mass.), and the IVIS system from Xenogen (Hopkinton, Mass.).
Motorized sample stages are widely used in optical imaging equipment, to permit loading multiple samples, or to permit selection of a sub-region of the sample for closer examination or measurement.
Design of lenses and lens assemblies is discussed in a variety of textbooks such as Modern Optical Engineering, Warren J. Smith, McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition (2000). This describes the primary aspects of a lens assembly, including entrance and exit pupils and principal plane locations, as well as the factors determining them. These may be calculated using ray-tracing programs such as Zemax from Zemax Development Corp. (Bellevue, Wash.).
The benefits of mapping the surface contours of objects to be studied by optical imaging, have been recognized in the field of in-vivo imaging. See for example, US Patent Published Application 20060268153 to Rice et. al. which describe use of structured light and photographic views to attain this goal.
Use of structured light methods to perform surface mapping can be costly since specialized illumination optics are required.
It is desirable to provide for surface mapping that uses elements already present in an in-vivo imaging system to the greatest extent, with minimal change or addition of components; and that it should not require costly or complicated optics or illumination system.